After three attempts to attract investment for the Thailand 4.0 initiative, prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha appears finally to have found the right formula. Peter Janssen reports.- 20 days ago, 24 Nov 17, 5:57am -

North Korea’s nuclear arms testing has led to ramped-up sanctions against the country – but also unintended consequences in neighbouring China. It is a reminder to business and political leaders that risks are hard to assess but easy to spread, a…- 28 days ago, 15 Nov 17, 10:57am -

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is about to come to life backed by international big names like Nasdaq and the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Kazakh authorities have high ambitions, but past failures call for prudence, writes George Volos…- 31 days ago, 13 Nov 17, 7:06am -

New Zealand’s general election in September resulted in a hung parliament between the National party and Labour. The poor showing of minor parties leaves only New Zealand First as a credible coalition partner. But which party will it support? Luci…- 56 days ago, 19 Oct 17, 7:00am -

Three of the top five global financial centres are from Asia but if tension from the Korean Peninsula and China escalates, all the progress they have made could unravel, says Lawrence Yeo.- 63 days ago, 12 Oct 17, 7:01am -

China's record for not recognising intellectual property ownership is a concern for many foreign companies doing business there. But staying away from such a vast market is not an option for an ambitious global player. Erika Morphy looks into ways of…- 63 days ago, 12 Oct 17, 7:00am -

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday announced $60 billion in “funding support” for development in the African continent. The pledge was made during an opening address at the two-day summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which Xi is…- 4 Dec 15, 5:44am -

Japan’s defense budget for the next fiscal year is likely to top 5 trillion yen ($40.8 billion) for the first time ever, according to media reports. The budget, which is expected to be finalized later this month, will provide the Shinzo Abe-led gov…- 4 Dec 15, 1:30am -

MANILA -- There could be a new, old player in next year's already messy Philippine presidential election, where this week the front-runner was disqualified, and a dark horse candidate caused a stir by talking about his girlfriends and cursing the…- 4 Dec 15, 1:05am -

Malaysia passed a new security law Thursday that could help the government quash protests as Prime Minister Najib Razak parries corruption allegations. In August, tens of thousands of people rallied against Najib, calling on him to step down in conn…- 3 Dec 15, 8:26pm -

Asian stocks slumped early Friday, following U.S. and European markets, after the European Central Bank did less than some investors hoped to boost the region's economy. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.5 percent, Korea's KOSPI 1.1 percent, Australia's ASX…- 3 Dec 15, 7:53pm -

China’s foreign trade is set to decline by 7.2 percent this year, according to the official customs information service haiguan.info. Imports and exports were hurt by slow recovery in the global economy and weak domestic and foreign demand. - 3 Dec 15, 4:17am -

SHANGHAI -- The decision by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to commemorate the birth of his daughter by donating 99 percent of his shares, worth some $45 billion, to a philanthropic foundation has aroused much debate in Chinese media -- and has l…- 3 Dec 15, 3:30am -

The Economist: Asia

THE first daigou, meaning someone who makes purchases on another’s behalf, were Chinese students studying abroad, who hauled desirable products home on behalf of family and friends. Adding a commission helped them pay their tuition fees. The spr…- 6 days ago, 7 Dec 17, 10:57am -

INDIA’S national parliament, the Lok Sabha, sits for barely 70 days a year. The shortest of its three sessions normally starts in mid-November. This year, though, the government has given MPs an extra month’s holiday. The reason: Gujarat, a ba…- 6 days ago, 7 Dec 17, 10:57am -

Treasure and menaceVENETIANS have their vaporettos, Londoners their double-deckers, Japanese their bullet trains and Filipinos their jeepneys. None of those other vehicles, however, is as dirty, dangerous and uncomfortable as the jeepney, a Frank…- 6 days ago, 7 Dec 17, 10:57am -

For Akihito, April is the kindest monthIT WAS an understandable request. Last year an 83-year-old Japanese man, who has survived prostate cancer and heart surgery, asked to retire. Yet it took much debate and a change in the law before the govern…- 6 days ago, 7 Dec 17, 10:57am -

THE battling begums, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia, used to alternate in power with metronomic regularity. Both laid claim to aspects of Bangladesh’s founding myth. Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of the “father of Bangladesh”, Sheikh Mu…- 6 days ago, 7 Dec 17, 10:57am -

ON THE first floor of a crumbling colonial building in Yangon, a teacher taps the words written on the board with a bamboo rod. “Repeat after me so you will remember this by heart,” she instructs. The whole class chants back in unison. The chi…- 13 days ago, 30 Nov 17, 10:56am -

HIS protest camp had been blocking a busy motorway for more than three weeks. He had been giving speeches to the protesters denouncing politicians as “pigs”, “pimps” and “dogs”. Yet Khadim Rizvi, a Muslim cleric, was not worried about…- 13 days ago, 30 Nov 17, 10:56am -

THE plot was made for Bollywood: a princess so beautiful that a lustful prince besieges a spectacular fortress to catch her, and so virtuous that she hurls herself into a fire rather than surrender. Movie producers were not the first to be inspire…- 13 days ago, 30 Nov 17, 10:56am -

“THE hardest bit of the job is having enough sleep,” admits Martanto, a 29-year-old geophysicist at the monitoring centre for Agung, a volcano in Bali which started erupting on November 25th. For the past two weeks he and half a dozen others h…- 13 days ago, 30 Nov 17, 10:56am -

FOLLOWING a brief hiatus in its testing programme, North Korea launched a missile in the small hours of November 29th that, unlike any previous missile, appeared to be able to strike any city in America. It was the third test of an intercontinenta…- 14 days ago, 29 Nov 17, 11:58am -

WSJ: What's News Asia

Democrat Doug Jones scored an upset win in a deeply Republican state, capturing the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in a special election that drove a wedge within the Republican party and gave Democrats another burst of momentum ahead of the 2018 midter…- 21 hours ago, 13 Dec 17, 12:27am -

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ruled out pursuing a traditional Cold War-style containment and deterrence strategy against a nuclear-armed North Korea, citing concerns that Pyongyang will transform its arsenal into a commercial business and sell nu…- 21 hours ago, 13 Dec 17, 12:25am -

Unlike past financial frenzies such as the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, individual investors have been first to the party, fueling bitcoin’s 1,600% rise this year.- 24 hours ago, 12 Dec 17, 9:46pm -

Researchers have identified a number of business transactions that they say show North Korea’s international financing web is more sophisticated than what was previously known.- 1 day ago, 12 Dec 17, 8:13pm -

For decades, Beijing camouflaged its global ambitions and the West told itself that China would eventually embrace its values. That game of make-believe is winding down.- 1 day ago, 12 Dec 17, 1:12pm -

Oxfam: Asia Blog

6 May 2017 – As the Asian Development Bank marks its 50th year, international development organization Oxfam urged the Bank to put the fight against rising inequality central to their future strategy and plans. Following Oxfam’s global report tha…- 11 May 17, 1:15am -

Written by John Chettleborough, Head of Agricultural Markets and Enterprise Unit, GRAISEA Khaing Zin Oo (not her real name) sat on the mat, inside her modest wooden house, telling us how she helped the community get compensation from the company…- 21 Nov 16, 10:38pm -

Written by Savann Oeurm “Empowering women and gaining men’s support on women empowerment will encourage women to stand up for themselves, and break down cultural norms that prevent them from moving up into leadership roles.” Despite all the…- 20 Jul 16, 1:15am -

Entrepreneurship development and empowerment are complementary to each other particularly in the gender context in which women involvement is involved. In Bangladesh where I come from, there is a growing class of women entrepreneurs who are taking th…- 9 Jul 16, 12:26pm -

Written by Prasen Khati “This is the first national conference organised in our village. We feel you have come to share our grief and help us move forward. We so much appreciate you coming here.” That was the message of the people of Barpak, the…- 30 May 16, 4:49am -